Commuting - Ever meet a someone who just hates cyclists?

Tell me your story.


There is this lady, we'll just call her Lisa. She complains that there are some cyclists that ride 15mph on a 40mph street and ride in front of her so now she has to go out of her way to pass them. I asked how long that street was, Lisa refused to answer (I bet is just ¼ - ½ miles long).
Lisa has now found out that it isn't against the law NOT to wear a helmet and now Lisa is set on that it should be a law. Oh course I had to say, then cyclists should also wear eye protection and other pieces of armor. Lisa then goes for the knee jerk reasoning of, " Helmets protect your brain". Lisa doesn't even ride a bicycle, so why should she care?

Yeah, I hate cyclists. They clog up my MUPs and take my favorite possie at the rack in front of the store... well, I don't hate all cyclists, I don't hate myself obviously.

I think most of us have met at least one person like that. I've stopped trying to talk with them because most of the conversations I have seem to turn into the one in the link below and nothing good seems to come of it.

http://youtu.be/q80_BtDpkbk

I hate cyclists because they're all faster than my car. Which is why I'm a cyclist. But they're faster than me on my bike too, so I hate cyclists doubly. But, going back to the op, I have never formally met myself. So, no, I have never met anyone who hates cyclists. I should get to know myself sometime, I hear I'm a nice guy. Oops, here comes my Daddy - he hates when I play with his computer . . .

I have a co-worker that frequently says:

"When I'm in a car, I hate pedestrians.
When I'm walking, I hate car drivers.
But, I always hate cyclists."

Of course, he hates anyone who isn't like him. Who cares? I prefer:

"What others think of you is none of your business."

Lisa then goes for the knee jerk reasoning of, " Helmets protect your brain".

Poor Lisa.

She should have worn a helmet.

The only cyclists I hate are the ones who give the rest of us a bad name by blatantly disreguarding the rules of the road, being inconsiderate or downright rude to drivers and pedestrians, and generally being arrogant asses who believe the whole world is their personal training ground. Ever see Joe Kit-n-carbonfiber doing 30mph in the drops, weaving between the pedestrians on a MUP on a Saturday afternoon? Or Jane Wannabe a New York Bike Messenger blowing through a red light then flipping off the woman who had to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision? Those are the cyclists I'm talking about and both are real examples of behavior I have seen.

I digress as the OP asked about the other side of the coin. Earlier this summer I was passing through a small rural town and stopped at the one traffic light. When the light turned green I proceded through the intersection which resulted in two guys in a pickup having to wait about 10 seconds to make a right on red (legal in this state). As they passed me several seconds later, the Bubba in the passenger seat threw something striking me in the lower back as the driver floored it for a near miss. I got flipped off by Bubba as they sped away.

Life is too short to be spent on such a negative emotion. Anyhow, I ignore them or refuse to discuss cycling.

Trying to educate someone like that usually results in them plugging their ears and screaming "LALALALALA I can't hear you", so just ignore her. Lisa can go on living her high speed life style that will probably bring on an early death. Every time I encounter someone like that, I feel compelled to ask them "does 1 or 2 minutes mean that much to you?" and/or "if your time is so important, why are you wasting it talking to me?" etc.

Definitely.

My son-in-law is one of those guys...way too important to slow down for a guy on a bike and doesn't want to wait to go around safely. Me, I'm a life-long cyclist who commutes to work on a bike most days. I think he's acting like a jackass, and he doesn't think to much of me, so I guess it all works. Most people who 'hate' cyclists are WAY to self involved...(the world revolves around me and me alone) and rarely think about what it's like in the other guys shoes, or just plain ignorant and not willing to listen to reason.

Life in the big city is guess?

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee, FL

I hate cagers so we're even.

There is always someone who hates something about you. So what. Some people are unhappy, others are just angry. I hate, as a group, dog owners, but I wouldn't expect dog owners to worry much about my opinion. There is always something about you that will annoy someone, and there are things about others that will annoy you. Life goes on.

I think I've quoted this before on the forum...

Any thing imaginable has three groups of people surrounding it: those that love it, those that hate it, and those that want to have sex with it.

Sure, I know a couple of people like that. In my experience, though, they don't "just" hate cyclists. They hate darn near everything. Seriously, if someone has enough time on their hands/space in their head to be concerned about cyclists when it doesn't really involve them, they tend to be the kind of people that: a) don't have a life of their own or b) are chronic complainers who will b**** about everything.

As I have enough problems of my own to deal with, I don't have time for these people, so I ignore them and ride on.

Sure, I know a couple of people like that. In my experience, though, they don't "just" hate cyclists. They hate darn near everything. Seriously, if someone has enough time on their hands/space in their head to be concerned about cyclists when it doesn't really involve them, they tend to be the kind of people that: a) don't have a life of their own or b) are chronic complainers who will b**** about everything.

As I have enough problems of my own to deal with, I don't have time for these people, so I ignore them and ride on.

You nailed it. That's been my experience. These type of people just hate everything.

It is a waste of effort to even try to change their mind, it just won't take.

I haven't met a person who hated cyclists, but I've met one motorist who did not fully understand cyclists' rights, and made her ignorance of those rights known by going off into a loud tirade, and then ransacking my panniers in her quest to identify me.

I don't think it's so awful or unimaginable that autos would find us annoying...we are an inconvenience and a very small minority that has different needs and requirements. I don't think finding slower moving traffic irritating automatically qualifies someone as a miserable psycopath. It doesn't give them the right to act on it, but it's perfectly reasonable for autos to be annoyed by us. And, let's face it, a lot of cyclists do act like turds.

I haven't met a person who hated cyclists, but I've met one motorist who did not fully understand cyclists' rights, and made her ignorance of those rights known by going off into a loud tirade, and then ransacking my panniers in her quest to identify me.

Wha? THAT sounds like some sort of mental disorder.

I don't think it's so awful or unimaginable that autos would find us annoying...we are an inconvenience and a very small minority that has different needs and requirements. I don't think finding slower moving traffic irritating automatically qualifies someone as a miserable psycopath. It doesn't give them the right to act on it, but it's perfectly reasonable for autos to be annoyed by us. And, let's face it, a lot of cyclists do act like turds.

One argument I've heard (and it makes a lot of sense to me) is that cyclists are much more fragile than a car in a collision and that creates additional anxiety when sharing the road. Add in the fact that some cyclists are unpredictable and that a collision could kill a cyclist and you have motorists that despise driving alongside cyclists and would prefer them to stay on sidewalks and trails. You're not going to be able to talk that away by talking about cyclists' rights or by telling them the history of modern roadways.

Exactly...I think expecting everyone to love or accept us is probably unreasonable. I fully accept that I am an actual inconvenience to cars. That guy behind the wheel is an inconvenience to me and I'm sure he does other things that annoy me. It's a society, we have to tolerate some annoyance from others.

I think Lisa is mostly right. You should wear a helmet and eye protection. Body armour is probably not necessary. Bikes that "take the lane" for no reason are really annoying.

Exactly...I think expecting everyone to love or accept us is probably unreasonable. I fully accept that I am an actual inconvenience to cars. That guy behind the wheel is an inconvenience to me and I'm sure he does other things that annoy me. It's a society, we have to tolerate some annoyance from others.

+1

I had a coworker tell me once that he would intentionally run over and kill cyclists if he thought he would have a 100% chance to get away with it, because he wanted to "teach them all a lesson", and expressed sadness about how "liberal" this country had become because "if I hit a cyclist I'd be the one who goes to jail".


I didn't bother correcting his perception that cyclists are more often protected by law than drivers. I felt it better in terms of my safety.

Tell me your story.


There is this lady, we'll just call her Lisa. She complains that there are some cyclists that ride 15mph on a 40mph street and ride in front of her so now she has to go out of her way to pass them. I asked how long that street was, Lisa refused to answer (I bet is just ¼ - ½ miles long).
Lisa has now found out that it isn't against the law NOT to wear a helmet and now Lisa is set on that it should be a law. Oh course I had to say, then cyclists should also wear eye protection and other pieces of armor. Lisa then goes for the knee jerk reasoning of, " Helmets protect your brain". Lisa doesn't even ride a bicycle, so why should she care?

All due respect to you but I have ask, why do you even talk to Lisa?

"I hope your kids never ride a bike with people like you on the road" sometimes works, but for the most part people who would like to run down cyclists are beyond reason and I don't waste my time with so much negativity.

.....Bikes that "take the lane" for no reason are really annoying.


It depends on whose perspective you're looking from, judging by a number of motorists' reactions, I'm sure that many think that my many times of "taking the lane" are for "no reason", even though I'm avoiding the door zone, debris in the shoulder, setting up for a left turn, etc. Some motorists feel that I should not "take the lane" regardless, even when the adjacent bike lane is completely blocked by a semi truck making a delivery.

The only time I hate cyclists is when I'm a pedestrian. That's because I've had a collisions and several near collisions because they were being reckless. If I'm ever driving, I have complete respect for cyclists because they are taking advantage of a bike's capabilities.
People who say they want to run over cyclists are just bitter people you are better off avoiding in general.

Meet? No. Encounter on my daily commute of 22 miles? Average about .667 haters per commute.

I have had conversations with people where they are complaining about how much cyclists suck then when I tell them I ride to work they say, "Ya but not you because you don't do the stupid stuff I see the others doing." And they know this how? lol

I don't hate anyone. I don't much care for the paranoids though - they keep following me!

-G

Meet? No. Encounter on my daily commute of 22 miles? Average about .667 haters per commute.


I'm glad that my commute is nowhere even close to that ratio.

Poor Lisa.

She should have worn a helmet.

Or her father should have.

I had a coworker tell me once that he would intentionally run over and kill cyclists if he thought he would have a 100% chance to get away with it, because he wanted to "teach them all a lesson", and expressed sadness about how "liberal" this country had become because "if I hit a cyclist I'd be the one who goes to jail".
.

He would be fine in Oregon.

I had a coworker tell me once that he would intentionally run over and kill cyclists if he thought he would have a 100% chance to get away with it, because he wanted to "teach them all a lesson", and expressed sadness about how "liberal" this country had become because "if I hit a cyclist I'd be the one who goes to jail".


I didn't bother correcting his perception that cyclists are more often protected by law than drivers. I felt it better in terms of my safety.

Talk is cheap and people run their mouths. If every blowhard who says things like that really tried killing us, we'd all be dead long over.

. . . Earlier this summer I was passing through a small rural town and stopped at the one traffic light. When the light turned green I proceded through the intersection which resulted in two guys in a pickup having to wait about 10 seconds to make a right on red (legal in this state). As they passed me several seconds later, the Bubba in the passenger seat threw something striking me in the lower back as the driver floored it for a near miss. I got flipped off by Bubba as they sped away.

I usually stop far enough to the left to allow cars turning right to do so, and get annoyed at curb huggers, (often Joe Kit-n-carbonfiber's) blocking the right turn lane giving some cager another excuse to be a hater.

If it is a through lane I don't give a crap as they couldn't turn right if I was a car. I have had instances when I first started riding when I tried to follow this rule and just ended up in the left side of the lane with cars passing me on the right. If it is a right turn lane I will be on the right side of the through lane.

One argument I've heard (and it makes a lot of sense to me) is that cyclists are much more fragile than a car in a collision and that creates additional anxiety when sharing the road. Add in the fact that some cyclists are unpredictable and that a collision could kill a cyclist and you have motorists that despise driving alongside cyclists and would prefer them to stay on sidewalks and trails. You're not going to be able to talk that away by talking about cyclists' rights or by telling them the history of modern roadways.

Of course there is a response to that tired argument. When I drive I don't have any anxiety about passing cyclists while on the road; it's quite clear to me how wide my vehicle is and how wide a cyclist is. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what is a safe passing distance. My response to someone like that would be, "maybe you shouldn't be on the road if you have doubts about your ability to pass a cyclist safely". As for cyclists being unpredictable... do motorists never pull in front of other cars unexpectedly without using a turn signal?

I hate cagers so we're even.

Uh oh, be carefull. I said the "C" word over the touring forum a while back and was soundly spanked.

Some people are just full of hate. They will always find some one or something to hate

Of course there is a response to that tired argument. When I drive I don't have any anxiety about passing cyclists while on the road; it's quite clear to me how wide my vehicle is and how wide a cyclist is. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what is a safe passing distance. My response to someone like that would be, "maybe you shouldn't be on the road if you have doubts about your ability to pass a cyclist safely". As for cyclists being unpredictable... do motorists never pull in front of other cars unexpectedly without using a turn signal?

I think its a combination of apprehension and fear of causing harm to a vulnerable rider and inexperience/ignorance of what to do. To a driver with no experience around bikes, all the right things to do around a cyclist seem counter-intuitive. If you cruising along at 50 or more on a 2 lane road with no shoulder and come up over a hill and see a cyclists, you have to either slam on the brakes and risk getting rear-ended or swerve into the oncoming lane and risk a head-on collision. Both of those are usually drilled into new driver's heads as really bad things to do. They see the danger in the situation and get angry at the cyclists for "putting them in this situation". Maybe you don't ride in situations like that, but the driver you meet may have been in that situation at some point. The good news is that after enough exposure to cyclists, most drivers tend to relax a bit and learn how to pass safely and not stress so much.

I think its a combination of apprehension and fear of causing harm to a vulnerable rider and inexperience/ignorance of what to do. To a driver with no experience around bikes, all the right things to do around a cyclist seem counter-intuitive. If you cruising along at 50 or more on a 2 lane road with no shoulder and come up over a hill and see a cyclists, you have to either slam on the brakes and risk getting rear-ended or swerve into the oncoming lane and risk a head-on collision. Both of those are usually drilled into new driver's heads as really bad things to do. They see the danger in the situation and get angry at the cyclists for "putting them in this situation". Maybe you don't ride in situations like that, but the driver you meet may have been in that situation at some point. The good news is that after enough exposure to cyclists, most drivers tend to relax a bit and learn how to pass safely and not stress so much.

Interesting perspective... while I generally agree... the bottom line is that no one should crest a hill at speed while not having any idea of what is on the other side... but try telling people to drive within their sightlines and they look at you like you are from another planet... far too many drivers feel that the speed limit is what they should be driving... and they fail to understand that the speed limit is just that.. a limit, not a goal.

A good portion of what motorists learn in "driving classes" is really wrong... those very things that are drilled in their heads... have little to do with safe operation, but are all about "maintaining flow."

Of course there is a response to that tired argument. When I drive I don't have any anxiety about passing cyclists while on the road; it's quite clear to me how wide my vehicle is and how wide a cyclist is. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what is a safe passing distance. My response to someone like that would be, "maybe you shouldn't be on the road if you have doubts about your ability to pass a cyclist safely". As for cyclists being unpredictable... do motorists never pull in front of other cars unexpectedly without using a turn signal?

Nice. I'm filing that one away for future use, if you don't mind.

Uh oh, be carefull. I said the "C" word over the touring forum a while back and was soundly spanked.

Generally the 'C' word is OK on the commuting forum, as long as you don't put the 'F' word and the 'C' word together...:)

Tell Lisa:
'You are so right; now take off all your clothes . . .'
Bet she'll never speak to your again . . . or . . . she'll strip . . .

Any thing imaginable has three groups of people surrounding it: those that love it, those that hate it, and those that want to have sex with it.

you speak the truth. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1567410/Man-who-had-sex-with-bike-in-court.html)